How to Create a Safe Classroom for Your Students

As a teacher or school administrator, you want to create the most positive learning environment for your students. You want the students to be engaged, motivated to learn, and happy to be in school. One step you can take to accomplish this goal is to create a safe classroom environment for your students. This involves being prepared for emergency situations as well as organizing your classroom for daily activities. Let’s take a look at four things you can do to make your classroom safe this school year.

1. Organize and Clean the Classroom

Before your students step foot in the school, go through your classroom and make sure it’s in compliance with school safety guidelines. Aisles should be clear, windows and doors should be unlocked, and heavy furniture should be secure. Also, dangerous objects like scissors should be put away and out of reach of students. There should be an area for students to put their backpacks in order to keep the floors clear.

2. Teach Students About Safety

Once school has started, take the time to go over classroom safety rules with your students. Post this list of rules somewhere visible in the classroom. Common rules include: raising your hand when you have a question, washing your hands, no bullying or name-calling, respecting classroom items, and more.

3. Show Safety is Important

In addition to creating safety rules, it’s also key to show they’re not there just for show. Reward students for exhibiting good, safe classroom behavior. Additionally, don’t be afraid to discipline students who ignore safety guidelines. Lastly, set a positive example as teachers and administrators. Kids look up to you and are more likely to follow the rules if you do too.

4. Create Emergency Plans

Before school even begins, meet with fellow faculty members to discuss and walkthrough the school’s emergency plans. Once you have an understanding of them, practice the safety drills with your students. Further, if an emergency does occur, make sure you’re prepared with a school emergency kit. These can be valuable if you’re locked in a classroom or other area for a number of hours. Designate an area in the classroom for emergency kits. Also, SOS Survival Products can help your school stock large quantities of emergency supplies in an outdoor container.

Implementing these four school safety tips will help create a positive learning environment for your students. When students feel safe, they’re more likely to respect other students and apply themselves in their studies. This is the goal for every teacher and creating a safe classroom environment is part of the solution.

What To Do During A School Lock Down

With an increase of school-based violence taking place nationally during recent years, it’s crucial to know what can be done in the case of an emergency school lock down. According to one recent survey taken, more than 20 states now require emergency drills dealing with lock downs and 30 more states have even more comprehensive plans in place to deal with emergency situations of most every nature. This article addresses the crucial school lock down procedures concerning the school/staff, parents and the students as well.

School/Staff Strategies

One common problem triggered when a school has fire or lock down drills is that some people, including students, fail to take them seriously enough. Time is of the essence. Locking a classroom and going to a prearranged windowless place for hiding may be more difficult in an actual emergency; however, with planned escape routes and hiding places sufficiently rehearsed, lives will be saved in the case of a real lock down.

Equally crucial is silently keeping out of sight of threatening danger and drawing no attention to where a teacher’s students are hiding until they can be rescued.

Furthermore, if placing a phone call is impossible, having a predetermined code to text to a designated phone number proves to be a vital security measure during a lock down situation. As a rule, having lock down drills every four to six months is now mandatory for many schools.

Moreover, school districts and principals would benefit greatly if they had the services of a professional security force working hand-in hand with the local police. Such a security firm could come to the school and evaluate that school’s lock down strategy well before a real disaster takes place.

Parent/Student Strategies

While it’s good for a school to provide security measures, parents on the home front need to take the following precautions with the children. A survival backpack with a cell phone or texting device and other items could very easily offer a way to sustain a student and other students in a lock down emergency.

A good, reputable online survival website is one place to start for school emergency resources. Some typical items to include in a Classroom/Teacher kit are a cell phone, water pouches, wet wipes, an energy bar, some bandages, leather palm gloves and a flashlight. Student emergency kits offer a couple of days of needed necessities that help make a lock down situation a somewhat less stressful experience. Our Classroom Lockdown Kit contains items for sanitation as well. Lastly, a list of predetermined family gathering places and phone numbers of friends, relatives and local hospitals adds a measure of safety to this scenario.

In today’s unpredictable world, some peace of mind is still possible by planning ahead for many emergencies. Consequently, a combined effort of precautionary measures by law enforcement officials, school authorities and parents, acts as a three-strand cord of preparedness.